In a fractured dystopic future, amid the trauma and desolation, hope can still be discovered. The child Rue has lost identity, family and home to conflict but finds sanctuary in the garden of a mysterious community. Adulthood requires a courageous journey through a landscape of despair yet ultimately - fortified by music, animal companionship and skills as an herbalist - Rue finds hope of regeneration from unexpected sources. Margaret’s new novel is timeless yet disturbingly relevant, and offers healing, peace and refuge to a world ravaged by war and desolation.
Margaret Elphinstone is the author of eight novels as well as poetry and short stories. She is an Emeritus Professor of Strathclyde University. Apart from academic posts in the USA she spent her working life in Scotland and once again lives in Galloway, where she was working as a gardener when her first novel was published in 1987.
Elphinstone’s is a distinct voice in Scottish literature, a quieter voice than some perhaps, but in a time of crisis, those are often the ones worth paying most attention to. Bella Caledonia.
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